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1 – 10 of 131James Avey, Alexander Newman and Kendall Herbert
The purpose of this study was to address calls for and test efficacy of an app based, short term resilience intervention for individual benefit.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study was to address calls for and test efficacy of an app based, short term resilience intervention for individual benefit.
Design/methodology/approach
Three independent samples of participants were assessed to determine the efficacy of an employee focused resilience intervention. Study 1 includes a cross sectional validation of the approach. Study 2 examines validity of the intervention using pre- and post-tests. Study 3 utilizes random assignment of groups (treatment and control) to determine invention results on resilience and individual psychological well-being.
Findings
Evidence suggests employees in the experimental group reported higher levels of resilience and psychological well-being as a result of the intervention. Further, the authors found no significant changes in resilience or psychological well-being amongst employees in the control group suggesting the intervention induced the effect.
Originality/value
Previous research attempting resilience interventions have been long, cumbersome and expensive for organizations. Basing the authors’ method on previous research regarded as micro interventions, this intervention is individualized, flexible and very cost effective for organizational application.
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Lena Zander, Christina L. Butler, Audra I. Mockaitis, Kendall Herbert, Jakob Lauring, Kristiina Mäkelä, Minna Paunova, Timurs Umans and Peter Zettinig
We propose team-based organizing as an alternative to more traditional forms of hierarchy-based organizing in global firms.
Abstract
Purpose
We propose team-based organizing as an alternative to more traditional forms of hierarchy-based organizing in global firms.
Methodology/approach
Advancements in the study of global teams, leadership, process, and outcomes were organized into four themes: (1) openness toward linguistic and value diversity as enhancing team creativity and performance, (2) knowledge sharing in team-based organizations, (3) the significance of social capital for global team leader role success, and (4) shared leadership, satisfaction, and performance links in global virtual teams.
Findings
We identify questions at three levels for bringing research on team-based organizing in global organizations forward. At the within-team individual level, we discuss the criticality of process and leadership in teams. At the between-teams group level, we draw attention to that global teams also need to focus on relationships and interactions with other teams within the same global firm, for example, when sharing knowledge. With respect to the across-teams organizational level, we highlight how bringing people together in global teams from different organizational units and cultures creates the potential for experiential individual and team-based learning, while making the firm more flexible and adaptable.
Theoretical implications
The potential of the relatively underexplored idea of global team-based firms as an alternative to hierarchy open up questions for empirical research, and further theorizing about the global firm.
Practical implications
Practitioners can learn about organizational, team, and individual challenges and benefits of global team-based organizing.
Originality/value
A century-old dominant organizational form is challenged when moving away from hierarchy- and hybrid-based forms of organizing toward team-based global organizing of work.
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This paper outlines some of the background of and constraints facing the emergence of a new industry, focused not on buildings as such but on residential fit-out – the integrated…
Abstract
This paper outlines some of the background of and constraints facing the emergence of a new industry, focused not on buildings as such but on residential fit-out – the integrated kit-of-parts “behind your front door.” Residential application of the distinction between base building (support) and fit-out (infill), although sharing the same principles as the well-established office building and shopping mall sectors, is particularly important because it affects a very large market whose potential is not yet exploited but is arguably nascent.
It is well understood that industrial manufacturing processes – now becoming “product service systems” in the consumer sector – are most effective and dynamic where individual users are directly served, as seen in the automotive and electronics/communications sectors. Construction of base buildings understood as “infrastructures for living” is capable of stimulating the evolution of a fit-out industry that will itself accelerate innovation and distribution of new domestic fit-out services and systems.
In general, the creation of a genuine fit-out industry is not a technical or industrial design problem. Material subsystems and components like partitioning, bathroom and kitchen equipment, as well as “plug-and-play” piping and wiring are available or are being invented and approved in regulatory regimes internationally. While some smart products are still needed, the problem now is essentially a business proposition. By shifting to the provision of benefits rather than simply manufacturing products, companies may find a competitive advantage in a sector of the building industry now poised for an innovation leap. In the US and other developed countries, this is particularly compelling given the sustainability agenda, smart growth and increased demand for consumer-oriented production. In this perspective, the trend toward base building architecture allows the building industry to effectively come to terms with new and creative modes of industrial production.
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Corinne Lamour and Catherine De La Robertie
The goal of this research is 1) to check if shopping prescription consciousness is a fundamental decision-making characteristic, 2) to know its weight and position into consumer…
Abstract
Purpose
The goal of this research is 1) to check if shopping prescription consciousness is a fundamental decision-making characteristic, 2) to know its weight and position into consumer decision-making styles (DMS), and 3) to compare results between France and China.
Design/methodology/approach
A quantitative survey using the Consumer Styles Inventory (Sproles and Kendall, 1986) is done with 308 French and 221 Chinese pet food buyers. Factorial, multivariance, clustering and discriminant analyses are run.
Findings
Findings reveal that shopping prescription consciousness is a fundamental decision-making characteristic. Although this concept scores the same in both cultures, correlations between shopping prescription and other characteristics vary from a culture to another, showing a different prescription follower profile. In addition, opposite to our expectations prescription consciousness has a discriminant role on DMS in France but not in China. Finally, culture impacts overall DMS.
Research limitations/implications
The Chinese sample is weak. This study must be replicated in more product categories and involve more countries. This paper attempts to enrich prescribed consumption knowledge in a cross-cultural context.
Practical implications
This paper 1) enriches academic understanding of the decision delegation concept, in a cross-cultural context, and 2) encourages organizations involved in complex products to set up loyalty qualitative programs and prescriber networks to ease shopping decision and consequently increase sales.
Originality/value
This is the first time that decision delegation and prescription is studied according to decision-making styles in a cross-cultural context.
Corporations and businesses have been a major influence on society since before the industrial revolution, but academic focus on corporate responsibilities is a recent phenomenon…
Abstract
Purpose
Corporations and businesses have been a major influence on society since before the industrial revolution, but academic focus on corporate responsibilities is a recent phenomenon which focuses predominantly on globalised multi-national corporations of the late twentieth century. The purpose of this paper is to consider the evolution of the corporate responsibility and community involvement tracing the development of corporate behaviours in the UK from medieval guilds to the modern form of corporation seen at the end of the last century.
Design/methodology/approach
The analysis considers the institutional forces which have shaped responsible business behaviours in a context of changing power and influence.
Findings
Drawing on Weber's notion of the ideal-type, this paper demonstrates that many “modern” corporate social responsibility (CSR) concepts such as codes of conduct, stakeholder consultation, and corporate donations have considerable heritage.
Originality/value
This paper develops an important precedent by examining the evolution of CSR and other aspects of corporate engagement. It develops a long-term instrumental context for corporate donations, whilst revealing that practices such as employee volunteering are considerably more recent, and less institutionally developed.
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In this paper, a conceptual approach concerning architectural design of openings (mainly windows) in façades of adaptable dwelling units is presented. This approach stems from a…
Abstract
In this paper, a conceptual approach concerning architectural design of openings (mainly windows) in façades of adaptable dwelling units is presented. This approach stems from a design objective, which aims at providing user flexibility to adaptable dwelling units by utilizing moveable, modular, lightweight partitions, which can be re-arranged in various layouts, providing a number of interior space sub-division alternatives to suit personal dwelling needs of future dwellers.
The initial design of openings' location and span in façades bears direct impact on the future utilization of such moveable partitions within the adaptable dwelling unit. This is due to the fact that the possible location of dynamic partitions is derived, among other design constraints, from the location and span of existing openings in façades, next to which partitions cannot be placed. Therefore, the initial design of openings' location and span should try to fit a number of presupposed preferred solutions, which reflect future possible sub-division alternatives of the available dwelling space.
Two examples illustrating the conceptual approach are brought forward, summarizing, in the first example, openings of six alternatives concerning one specific façade of an adaptable dwelling unit, and, in the second example, five alternatives concerning two specific facades of a second dwelling unit. The connection between building type, floor plan geometry and adaptable dwelling space is also addressed.
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Jessica Lichy, Daniella Ryding, Edyta Rudawska and Gianpaolo Vignali
The purpose of this study is to draw from sustainable social innovation theory and the Consumer styles inventory (CSI) instrument to examine secondhand clothing consumption habits…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to draw from sustainable social innovation theory and the Consumer styles inventory (CSI) instrument to examine secondhand clothing consumption habits for Russia. The secondhand market is the logical outcome of efforts to adopt resale as a facet of sustainable social innovation, with which to drive sustainable decision-making and socially responsible marketing in the secondhand high-end clothing market. Resale represents the cornerstone of business model innovation (BMi) for the retail sector, offering substantial opportunities for retailers who understand changes in consumption behaviour. More cost-effective and arguably greener, the sale of secondhand clothing is expected to be double the volume of fast fashion by 2030 but it remains an understudied field of research in the literature relating to the fashion industry.
Design/methodology/approach
Hypotheses are developed from the existing literature. Survey methodology is used to collect data from 250 Russian consumers in the city of Petersburg. The objective is to test the veracity of CSI shopper orientations, focusing on nascent motivations for high-end branded secondhand clothing, to examine sustainable social innovation and resale in an emerging market.
Findings
Four new shopping orientations are identified. Based on the empirical data, the authors suggest that five (out of the original eight CSI shopping orientations) are of internal statistical relevance, and that our new orientations are relevant for not only this market, but for neighbouring Eastern European countries too. The findings reflect postmodern evolution in behavioural motivations for Russian consumers, that can inform retail strategy in terms of BMi consumer for harnessing opportunities offered by sustainable social innovation and resale.
Originality/value
Whilst the CSI has been widely used, research for Eastern Europe is limited. Understanding the shopping orientations for sustainable alternatives to newly produced clothing has theoretical and practical implications for improving circularity, post-war entry strategies and countries facing economic downturn. This study contributes novel insights by examining consumer decision-making and shopping orientations in an emerging market.
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Anna Meczynska, Roman Kmieciak, Anna Michna and Iwona Flajszok
This paper aims to propose and present a decision-making support method for poorly structured problems in schools, using the example of one of the most important and difficult…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to propose and present a decision-making support method for poorly structured problems in schools, using the example of one of the most important and difficult decisions that principals face: terminating a teacher's employment.
Design/methodology/approach
A literature review was conducted, along with observations and interviews with 30 experienced principals, in order to identify decisions made by Polish principals. In order to sort non-programmable decisions according to their importance and difficulty, data were collected from 377 principals. Opinions from two groups, consisting of 22 and 25 experts, respectively, were collected in order to identify and order a set of criteria for making a specified non-programmable decision.
Findings
The four following areas of school activities were distinguished: finances, teaching and care, internal processes, and development of organisation. Within these categories, 126 decisions made by principals were identified, 96 of which were non-programmable. One of the most difficult and important non-programmable decisions was related to the termination of a teacher's employment. In order to support decisions regarding a teacher's dismissal, 44 criteria with different importance levels were identified.
Practical implications
Principals can use the method proposed in this paper, as it increases the rationality and objectivity of making a dismissal decision. The method can also be adapted for other difficult non-programmable decisions.
Originality/value
The expert opinion method might be useful for solving poorly structured problems in the management of educational institutions. As far as it can be ascertained, no previous empirical studies have identified and ranked the most important and difficult non-programmable decisions facing principals.
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